Meal Replacement shakes vs Protein shakes

Meal replacement shakes and protein shakes are often confused. Because of this, many people consume the wrong kind of shake for their goals. Needless to say, making this mistake can prevent weight loss, prevent muscle gain, and even cause fat gain!

What’s your goal ?

Looking to lose weight ? Scroll to Meal Replacement Shakes section, and learn why it’s an effective way to lose weight.

Looking to gain muscle ? Scroll to Protein Shakes section and find way it the right solution to you.

1. Meal replacement shakes 

Meal replacement shakes are designed to help you achieve weight loss. You drink one or two shakes per day in place of your normal meal to control your food intake easily and simply. While you can replace several meals per day with a shake, I think that two or even one shake per day works fine. In fact, to lose weight, I only replaced my breakfast with a shake.

What a meal replacement shake should contain

Meal replacement shakes are typically low in calories – around 300 or less. They also have several other important characteristics: ( in detail, the 10 most important ingredients a meal replacement shake for weight loss must have)

Protein – important for making you feel fuller for longer, increasing your metabolism, and maintaining your muscles

Low carbs – too many carbs can make weight loss very hard which is why most good meal replacement shakes limit carbs to maximize fat burning. This also helps to keep the calories down

Very low/no sugar – added sugar would cause your blood glucose and insulin levels to spike which will inhibit fat burning. All good meal replacement shakes are very low or even free from sugar

Contain fiber – fiber keeps you feeling fuller longer and is also important for digestive health. A good meal replacement shake should contain around five grams of fiber per servings

Vitamins and minerals – a weight loss diet should still be a healthy diet and so a good weight loss shake should contain vitamins and minerals. Vitamins and minerals don’t contain any calories but are essential for your health. They are also important antioxidants

Healthy fats – many people are wrongly scared of fats but they are actually very important for your health. Any good meal replacement shake should contain some healthy fats such as olive oil, coconut oil or fish oil

Added extras – some meal replacement shakes may also contain added extras such as probiotics to keep your digestive system healthy

Meal replacement shakes take the pain out of losing weight. Many diets require you to completely rewrite your diet plan – from breakfast to dinner. This is not always practical – especially if you have no time for cooking or shopping for groceries.

In essence, meal replacements are a healthy meal in a glass. You can blend your own from any number of recipes (homemade  meal replacement shakes) that you can find or buy pre-prepared meal replacement shakes such as my top 3 personal recommendations: IdealShake, RAW Organic Meal or Vega One All-in-One Nutritional Shake (my reviews and details at best meal replacement shakes for weight loss).

Swapping out one or two meals per day is not only an easy way to lose weight, it saves you having to cook special fat-fighting meals and are generally very cost effective. You can usually consume your meal replacement shake anywhere you like which means there is no reason not to be able to stick to a meal replacement diet.

Meal replacement diets are a great, easy, simple way to lose weight – just chose one of two meals per day and replace them with a meal replacement shake. Follow my “How to Lose weight with meal replacement shakes” plan to organize your diet and star to lose weight.

Looking for meal replacement shakes recipes ? I’ve shared some more here.

Protein shakes

Protein shakes, unlike meal replacement shakes, are not designed for weight loss but for muscle gain. When you exercise, your muscles are broken down a little – a process called catabolism. To repair this damage and build the muscles back bigger and stronger, protein is required. Most experts agree that you need around one gram of protein per pound of bodyweight or about two grams per kilogram.

Getting enough protein per day can be tough unless you are able to eat meat, fish, eggs, chicken or dairy at each and every meal of the day – all six of them! Even then, it’s still not easy.

Protein shakes make it easier to get enough protein into your diet as they are easy to drink and require no preparation other than mixing with water and then chugging down. There are several types of protein shake you can get:

Whey protein – made from dairy so high in protein but also contain lactose which many people are allergic to (my selection of the best whey protein).

Caseinate – also made from dairy, caseinate is a slow-releasing protein ideal for nighttime use (top caseinate protein) 

Egg protein – a good source of protein but not a very nice tasting shake (best egg protein available on the market)

Soya protein – good for vegetarians but not a very good source of protein compared to whey (best 2 soya protein)

Hemp protein – better than soya and also good for vegetarians however can be expensive (best hemp protein selection)

Pea and rice protein – another expensive option but ideal for vegetarians (pea and rice protein)

Beef isolate protein – a new development in protein powders. Doesn’t taste beefy but is unsuitable for vegetarians

Don’t know what is the best protein for you ? Read our “Choosing the best protein powder” guide.

Protein shake timing

To maximize muscle growth and recovery from exercise, you need to consume protein throughout the day. If “real” food is not possible, a protein shake is an ideal alternative.

As well as providing a much-needed protein shot, protein shakes are also ideal for immediately before, during and after workouts – especially strength training.

Before a workout, a protein shake will minimize muscle break down during training

During a workout, protein shakes will help start the repair process

After a workout your protein shake will help speed up recovery.

Protein shakes generally contain very little else other than protein and a typical serving provides anywhere between 15 to 30 grams or more of protein. You can add other things to your protein shake to give it more calories such as fruit, peanut butter, or coconut oil, but this turns an almost pure protein shake into a weight gainer or meal replacement shake. Most protein powders are designed to be mixed with just a little water or milk to keep the emphasis on protein. Find my tasty, high on fiber and healthy protein shakes recipes here.

Do you NEED a protein shake?

If you are exercising hard and trying to build muscle, a protein shake may be useful – especially if you are training hard with weights and struggle to eat enough protein per day. If, however, you do mostly cardio and/or already eat a lot of high-protein food, you probably don’t need a protein shake too unless it’s part of a meal replacement for fat loss.

Conclusion

Now you know the difference between meal replacement shakes and protein shakes you should have no problem choosing the right one for your goals. And no matter what it is you are trying to achieve, it is important to remember that the occasional meal replacement or protein shake won’t have miraculous effects on your progress if the rest of your habits are not healthy.

Instead, you need to use them regularly and combine them with a generally healthy lifestyle. Small changes, such as drinking more water, exercising regularly, eating plenty of vegetables, and walking more can go a very long way to making you fit and healthy, and adding the right kind of shake can help get you the results you want.